Diamond Comics Distributors Declares Bankruptcy

Source: BleedingCool.com, CBR.com/

Diamond Comic Distributors declares bankruptcy, states that Diamond UK and Alliance Games may be bought by Canadian distributor Universal.

Chuck Parker, President of Diamond Comic Distributors, has written to comic book stores and publishers with the news that Diamond Comic Distributors has declared Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. And that Diamond UK, as well as sister company and games distributor Alliance Games Distribution, have a commitment to be bought by Canadian comics distributor Universal Distribution. This comes after many major publishers left US distribution with Diamond, including Marvel, DC, Image, IDW, Dark Horse and most recently Boom Studios. The letter runs as follows:

“Dear Valued Customer, I’m writing to share one of the most challenging messages of my career. Earlier today, Diamond made the difficult but necessary decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. This step is intended to stabilize our financial foundation and protect the most vital aspects of our business. This decision was not made lightly, and I understand that this news may be as difficult to hear as it is for me to share. The Diamond leadership team and I have worked tirelessly to avoid this outcome but the financial challenges we face have left us with no other viable option. Chapter 11 will provide us with the opportunity to restructure and address our financial obligations. This process will likely include the sale of key assets of Diamond Comic Distributors. We have already received a commitment from Universal Distribution to purchase Alliance Game Distributors coupled with a signed Letter of Intent to purchase Diamond UK, and we remain committed to pursuing offers for all Diamond lines of business. What does this mean for you? I want to reassure you that, with secured financing in place to support our operations, Diamond Comic Distributors is committed to continuing business as usual throughout this process. Our plan is to continue fulfilling orders in a complete and timely fashion and we are working hard to minimize any disruptions to your orders. We will be as transparent as possible during this process and will keep you informed of significant developments. If you have any questions, please reference the Retailer FAQs below, also available on our Retailer FAQs page on the Retailer Services Website. With further inquiries, as always, you can submit a ticket via our online Retailer Support Center or contact us at customersupport@diamondcomics.com. Thank you for your support. We are committed to your business and ensuring that your needs are met as we navigate this process.”

This is followed by the following FAQ for retailers…

1. Why did Diamond Comic Distributors decide to file for Chapter 11? The unexpected loss of certain exclusive publisher relationships, compounded by an overall contraction in consumer spending, increased inflation, and a loss of margin on key print product lines contributed to this decision. After exploring all available options, Diamond determined that filing for Chapter 11 is the best course of action to restructure its operations and secure the most favorable outcome for all stakeholders.
2. What were the contributing factors in the industry that led to this decision? Post-pandemic, the comic book industry at large has seen a decrease in consumer activity paired with rising operating costs, and Diamond is no exception. Shrinking margins, growing expenses, and a decline in sales, as well as the desire to achieve the best possible outcome for the majority of our vendors, customers, and employees all contributed to this decision.
3. What is Chapter 11? Does this mean the company is closing? A Chapter 11 filing is generally an action a company takes to protect its ongoing business from financial claims while it continues operations. During Chapter 11 proceedings, the company typically reorganizes financially and manages its operations to best meet the claims of those to whom it owes money. Diamond has received funding from its lender to enable it to meet post-filing obligations and continue to operate while it goes through this process.
4. Is there another company taking over? As part of the restructuring process, the Company has received a stalking horse bid from Universal Distribution for Alliance Game Distributors and signed a letter of intent with the same company to buy Diamond UK. We are also actively pursuing offers for additional Diamond Comic Distributors assets and lines of business, including our comic, toy and collectible distribution, Diamond Book Distributors, Collectible Grading Authority, and Diamond Select Toys.
5. How will I be impacted as a customer? Diamond Comic Distributors will continue to fill orders and operating business as usual during this process. We are currently in discussions with companies inside and outside of our industries to acquire parts of Diamond. Our goal is to minimize any potential impact on retailers and ensure the continued, uninterrupted flow of products. According to our customary practice, we will continue to invoice once a product ships. Product cannot be returned once it has been shipped except in the case of publisher return programs and our standard defective product replacement policy.
6. What happens to my pending orders? How can I confirm their status? Pending orders will be processed as usual unless otherwise communicated. You can confirm the status of your pending orders by visiting the Reports section of the Retailer Services Website. This section will continue to provide up-to-date information on Orders, Shipments, and Invoices.
7. Will there be any changes to how credits or refunds will be handled? Credits for returns will continue to be processed on the usual schedule. If you have prepay credit terms, orders for products that are canceled will be credited to your account. No cash refunds will be issued and all credits must be used toward future purchases.
8. Should I continue paying my outstanding invoices to Diamond? Yes, all outstanding invoices, back debt payments, and payment plans remain due and payable under the usual terms and schedule and should be paid. For specific questions regarding your account, please open a support ticket on the Retailer Services Website.
9. Will my retailer discount tiers or terms (e.g., payment terms, credit limits) remain unchanged during this process? At this time, all credit terms and retailer discount tiers remain unchanged.
10. Will Diamond still facilitate Free Comic Book Day this year? If not, are there contingency plans? At this time, Diamond remains committed to supporting Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) as planned. We understand the importance of this event for retailers and fans alike and will be working closely with participating publishers to ensure the event proceeds as smoothly as possible. However, as we navigate the restructuring process, there may be changes or adjustments. In the event Diamond is unable to fully facilitate FCBD, we will be actively exploring contingency plans to ensure that stores can still receive materials and participate in this critical event. Updates will be provided as more details become available.
11. Are my Alliance Game Distributors orders impacted? Alliance Game Distributors will continue operating as usual throughout this process. Your current and future orders with Alliance will not be impacted.
12. What about my Diamond order data? Diamond will continue providing order data for your records as per our usual practice.
13. What will happen with ComicSuite and Pullbox? Retailers using ComicSuite and / or Pullbox will receive further communication about these tools as more information becomes available.
14. What will happen with the PREVIEWS catalog? As this process moves forward, we will announce any changes to PREVIEWS as more information is available.
15. Who do I contact if I have additional questions? Please submit a ticket via our online Retailer Support Center or contact us at customersupport@diamondcomics.com with further questions. We will answer all questions as quickly as possible and provide updates via our Retailer Services Website as more information becomes available.

More on Diamond UK here…

So. Terance and I sat down over video chat to discuss the momentous news. Back in the early days of Independent Creators Connection, we’d intended the website and Facebook page to be a collective nexus where creators could gather and share their comic and graphic novel series, news about new releases and so on. It never seemed to pan out that way. When you are sitting in a group of promoters and not comics readers, all you’re doing is literally preaching to the choir. All promo, no customers.

“This is like on a par with the 1929 Stock Market Crash for Indie Comics artists, ” I told him. “Everyone is scrambling to figure out where to go next. You know what itches me, Terance? VERY few of the Indie creators that we have done Artist Spotlight interviews with EVER bothers to share either our website articles OR our IndyPlanet links to the ICC Magazine articles where we featured them. WHY? We are trying to PROMOTE THEM. They want us to interview them, but they never share the links to ICC Magazine. Why?”

“Yes,” He sighed. “I know. I think we need to discuss the future of ICC Magazine from here.”

“Why? I had to rebuild the entire website from scratch after that faulty malware plugin destroyed our site in 2023. I had to get back under the hood with WayBack Machine and restore most of our articles. I STILL have about 200 articles that I have to set up a schedule and restore. PLUS I got under the hood and rebuilt the website so it is more efficient. And that was after all our staff quit. I had a LITTLE bit of help in the ensuing months, but they either tried too hard and burned out, or faded away. Then 2024 hit us both with so much personal tragedy. But we made it.”

“You’re right, Pam. Maybe we can cut ICC Magazine down to bi-annually once you get caught up.”

I smiled. “We’ll see. But we’ve come too far. It’s too late to turn back now.”

But there’s a lot of research and hard work left to do. We can’t take anything for granted anymore in these strange days. I’ve got lists of printers, set up my own website where retailers and readers alike can order my books, comics and graphic novels at a RETAIL-TAKE35 discount code — but unlike what Diamond usually did to me, now the readers, retailers and booksellers get to pay the shipping. That’s the main reason ICC Magazine never made it big in the comic shops: Our initial Kickstarter never did all that well. Some people even mocked me for doing that Kickstarter, and YES, I still remember who you are. 😉 We DID get incredible great orders from comic shops via Diamond Comics Distributors for ICC Magazine–BUT the demand thanks to the failed Kickstarter outran my supply, that supply being my own out of pocket cost. I still sigh when I think of all that might have been had ICC Magazine had better support from the Indie Comics Community as intended. Ah, well, c’est la vie. Live and learn.

CBR (Comic Book Reviews) posted yesterday:
“Diamond Comic Distributors has filed for bankruptcy. After months of specultation regarding the company’s many shipping delays, Diamond executives first broke the news Wednesday morning. Although it’s not entirely surprising for Diamond to make such a decision given what’s publicly known about both the company and comics industry in a post-pandemic world, the news still came as a shock to most — from employees of the company to publishers, creators, and readers alike.

“It is a move that is already sending reverberations through the medium and frankly, it’s something that could change the world of comics forever.

“Is Diamond Comics Going Out of Business? In short, no. As it stands now, Diamond will not shut down and should be open for the foreseeable future. Through a press release sent to some of the company’s retailers, company executives — namely Diamond Comic Distributors president Chuck Parker — have revealed the company has filed a Chapter 11 petition. This should allow the company to continue conducting regular business operations while securing financing to pay down its debts.
“That same release shows that Diamond’s parent company, Geppi Family Enterprises, has already started selling off some of its business operations to obtain some of that aforementioned funding. In one case, the Montreal-based Universal Distribution has sign an agreement to purchase Geppi’s Alliance Game Distributors, allowing the company to expand its Canadian footprint into the United States for the first time. Universal has also signed a Letter of Intent to purchase Diamond UK as well, the England arm of the Geppi distribution model.

“Diamond Is One of Just Three Distributors Serving the Medium. If this news had surfaced prior to the pandemic, the comics industry would have been thrust into a state of chaos. Then, Diamond had a monopoly on comics distributions and virtually every single publisher pushed its books through the Maryland-based distro. In fact, there was a time at the onset of the pandemic in which Diamond temporarily shuttered distribution, pausing the release of all new comics for a few months. It was a move that quickly led to the creation of competing distributors out of a moment of necessity. Now, Diamond is joined by Lunar and Penguin Random House in its comic distribution efforts — Lunar serving as the exclusive distributor of DC and Image titles, while Penguin finds itself distributing titles from Marvel, Dark Horse, and BOOM! amongst others.
“Still, should Diamond not resurface from Chapter 11 bankruptcy — InCharge Debt Solutions reports just 10% of all Chapter 11 successfully make it through reorganization — the industry will forever be changed. On one hand, it would force two other distributors to adapt in order to maintain market shares, otherwise they’d run the risk of more competitors entering the fray. After all, many would attribute Diamond’s decades-long complacency to its impending downfall.”

At the time of this online article’s publication, a Phillip Russert, owner of Philbo Publishing, has stepped up to offer distribution services to Independent Comics publishers, but nothing solid regarding a website or where to sign up is available at this time. Check sources, get wise and seize the day, Indies. A new day has dawned.

As for myself, I’m standing in a strange doorway bathed in the light of a strange new day. Nothing is clear, nothing can be predicted, nothing promised. So today, I’m going to sit down…and start getting back to work writing and publishing more comics. — Pam Harrison, Chief Editor ICC Magazine.

Please feel free to leave Distributor leads, printers, advice and other information REGARDING THIS ARTICLE at the Leave A Reply comment section below. Now get on out of here and be great!!!